Cheese Tasting in Marin or Sonoma Co.?

[rubysage]

Hello,

We'll be driving through Marin and Sonoma counties soon on our way to the coast (gualala). I love cheese, and have always wanted to visit a cheese tasting room. Whether it's a farm, ranch, or local store with a good selection, I would appreciate your recommendations.

Thanks!
RS

[goddess.girl]

I highly recommend Matos Cheese Factory. My family has gone there for many years, and it's really a farm. You drive down LLanos Road until you see their little sign that says Joe Matos Cheese, and head down the gravel (now halfway paved) driveway and park between the barn and the cheese house. Most of the Matos family lives on that farm, and speaks mainly portugese. The cheese they make is St. Jorge cheese, somewhere between an aged swiss and sharp cheddar. Mary Matos (Joe's wife) usually cuts you a nice sample, and then you tell her how many pounds you want off of the wheel they have ready. If you want a whole wheel, they have a variety of sizes from 8 to 20 lbs. that will age nicely at home. The cheese is great for eating with fruit or making an outstanding mac and cheese.
Also, Marin French Cheese is where my family usually has a picnic at the end of one of our "cheese runs." We go to all the farms in the area for cheeses and fruit, getting some salami and bread in Petaluma or at Andy's Market on Hwy.116, and then filling out the picnic with some Triple Cream Brie (ask for well aged) and Quark. They have a great picnic area, with a pond and ducks to feed. Very pretty setting, even if the cheese is only a 9 out of 10.

[Glencora]

No ducks when I was there. (And it was hot! Even in the shade.)

[cmvan]

I would just add that Bellwether Farms isn't open to the public, but if you go to Cowgirl or to The Cheesemaker's Daughter in the town of Sonoma, for example, you can certainly taste their products.

[rruben1]

My wife and I visited a shop in Glen Ellen, Sonoma County, in the Jack London Village, two weeks ago. There was a cafe, an olive oil tasting room, and a couple of other shops. The cheese tasting area was in a corner of the cafe, and was led by a very knowledgeable cheesemonger. I'd recommend a visit.

[asc339]

Cowgirl Creamery has delicious artisan cheeses using local ingredients. They are at the far end of Pt. Reyes Station (and also in the SF Ferry Bldg).

[fyoulady]

DEFINITLY Cowgirl Creamery if you have the time to drive to Point Reyes, its about 30 minutes from Petaluma

[Robert Lauriston]

I don't think Cowgirl Creamery is worth the drive. The place feels pretty much like the Ferry Building, bunch of upscale food shops including a cheese store. Sometimes you can look at them make cheese through a window.

[Robert Lauriston]

Links to Cowgirl shops:

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Cowgirl Creamery
80 4th St, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956

Cowgirl Creamery
1 Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94111

[Melanie Wong]

I agree. Cowgirl isn't set up for tasting, other than the few samples you might try before making a purchase.

Here's more about Petaluma Creamery, Spring Hill's retail operation in the town of Petaluma, or follow the links to more about the farm store. Looking at some stainless steel vats through a window at Cowgirl can't compare to the sights and sounds (and smells) of being on a dairy farm with goats or cows at Spring Hill or Bodega Goat cheese.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/37039...

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Petaluma Creamry
621 Western Ave, Petaluma, CA 94952

[alfairfax]

I agree--certainly would not recommend a drive to Pt Reyes Station just for CG Creamery when they are right there in the Ferry Building. However, if visiting West Marin for the beaches. hiking, birding, etc. it is a great place to stop. (Same could be said for Hog Island Oysters, although in their case visiting the farm on Tomales Bay feels nothing like visiting them in Ferry Bldg.) By the way, Tomales Bay Foods, the place in Pt. Reyes Station that houses CG Creamery, doesn't really have a "bunch of upscale food shops", I would say. It has only a produce stand featuring locally-grown things, the Creamery stand, and then a deli counter now operated by Cowgirl Creamery which has pretty good stuff like Fra Mani salumi plus their own salads, sandwiches, meats, etc. And some wines. So, yes, more upscale than the local grocery or Toby's Feed Barn, but nothing at all on the size-scale of the Ferry Bldg. Or the upscale.

[Robert Lauriston]

The Ferry Building's a lot bigger, true. Tomales Bay Foods felt to me like a smaller version of Rockridge Market Hall or the Alameda Marketplace.

[Glencora]

If you decide to go to Marin French Cheese note that it is not actually in Petaluma at all, but quite far out of town. We ended up missing the tour because the drive took longer than expected. Only five minutes late, but they wouldn't let us join. Did a little tasting in the gift shop and discovered that I don't like quark. (Despite the cool name.)

[Robert Lauriston]

Don't write off quark based on theirs.

MFC's only really good cheese is the Schlosskranz. The "camembert" / "brie" is passable if you age it for a few weeks, not much flavor but pleasantly buttery.

[Nancy Berry]

Marin French Cheese has a few other good cheeses. They've improved quite a bit in the past few years. Their Yellow Buck Chevre is very good -- it won the American Cheese Society's Best American Cheese award in 2005. I also like their Yellow Buck Camembert, the Schloss and Schlosskranz (a cheese that reminds me of the long lost New York classic cheese, Liederkranz,) and another award-winning cheese, their Chevre Blue.

[Robert Lauriston]

Something's wrong with those awards. Yellow Buck isn't bad but it's bland and boring compared with Andante's.

[Nancy Berry]

I really like the Yellow Buck Chevre -- note that this is a different cheese from the Yellow Buck Camembert. I think that you have to age it a bit or look for an older one in the store because they release their cheeses young.

[sgwood415]

Call first too, I was there recently and they were not doing tours. They may have started them up again though. Just check before you go. Either way it's a good place to picnic with some cheese and wine. I liked their version of bleu.

[Chuckles the Clone]

I've never had much luck getting tastes or information from the counter people at MFC. And it's all pre-packed so you get a choice of one or two sizes. So I long ago at random bought some schloss and liked it a whole lot and haven't strayed. On the other hand, I'm only up there halfway though a day-long bike ride so pretty much anything with calories is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten....

The picnic grounds are real nice and the store has everything necessary for a great lunch. It's precisely 9 miles west of Petaluma. I think the store closes at 4 but I couldn't find any indication on their website.

[Mick Ruthven]

Vella Cheese noted above is the real thing, meaning they make their own cheeses (and also sell other cheese). They're about two blocks off the Sonoma town square. I don't think they have a tour, but they're very friendly and generous with tasting. They specialize in Dry Jack (in two stages of aging) which has a lot more flavor than the normal "Monterey Jack". Their website is interesting.

http://vellacheese.com

[Robert Lauriston]

Vella's at Ferry Plaza on Saturdays, so there's no need to drive to their Sonoma store to taste their stuff.

Andante, Bellwether, and Matos are also at that market.

[Mick Ruthven]

>Vella's at Ferry Plaza on Saturdays, so there's no need to drive to their Sonoma store to taste their stuff.<

I'm in Sonoma more often than at the Ferry Plaza on Saturdays :-)

[Robert Lauriston]

Marin French Cheese (Rouge et Noir) has tours but their cheese isn't very interesting.

The "Sonoma Cheese Factory" is now just a deli.

Andante's the best but she doesn't have tours or tastings.

I'm not sure which of the following have tours or retail operations.

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Vella Cheese Company
315 2nd St E, Sonoma, CA 95476

Andante Dairy
Petaluma, CA, USA, Petaluma, CA

Marin French Cheese
7500 Red Hill Rd, Petaluma, CA 94952

Spring Hill Cheese
4235 Spring Hill Rd, Petaluma, CA 94952

Matos Cheese Factory
3669 Llano Rd, Santa Rosa, CA 95407

Achadinha Goat Cheese Company
750 Chileno Valley Rd, Petaluma, CA 94952

Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co.
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956, USA, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956

Redwood Hill Farm
5480 Thomas Rd, Sebastopol, CA 95472

Yerba Santa Goat Dairy
6850 Scotts Valley Rd, Lakeport, CA 95453

Laura Chenel's Chevre
4310 Fremont Dr, Sonoma, CA 95476

Bellwether Farms
9999 Valley Ford Rd, Petaluma, CA

[chowetta]

Spring Hill has a very generous tasting at the farm. Don't know if there is a tour. Check out their butter if they have it.

[Melanie Wong]

I've taken a group to Spring Hill for a tour by prior arrangement. Worth a call to see if this is still an option.

Bodega Goat Cheese does a great tour. There's a small fee, but more than worth it for the experience and cheese tasting.
http://www.sonic.net/~bdgagoat/about....

[Robert Lauriston]

Link:

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Bodega Goat Cheese
Bodega, CA 94922, USA, Bodega, CA 94922

[Mick Ruthven]

>Marin French Cheese (Rouge et Noir) has tours but their cheese isn't very interesting.<

I've been a fan of their Schloss cheese for a long time. I don't know of any other cheese like it. It's probably not for everybody, but you won't know unless you try it.

[Robert Lauriston]

The schlosskranz is also good. I think it's the same stuff in a different shape.

[salutlemonde]

I agree. Schloss and Schlosskranz are both good - but strong. There are some blues - notably the goat - that can be good, depending on aging.

The regular Camembert, after enough aging, gets interesting. A bit grassy, not as earthy as a real French raw milk Camembert, but at least it's legal in the USA.

You can self-taste everything, and they are helpful in the store (normally).